Catherine took a deep breath and carefully slipped the letter through the slats of Gil's locker. Thankfully no one was around.

"This is so high school," she muttered softly. "I should just say it to his face. But I'm just too chicken." She turned, grabbed her bag and left the locker room. She walked to her car, got in and started the ignition, when she suddenly remembered something.

"Shit! I forgot to sign it!" She slapped her hand to her forehead. "Great! Just great, Willows. Now how is he going to know it's you? Jesus! Could you have been any more stupid?" She pulled out of the parking lot and headed to her home, cursing her stupidity the entire way.

Twenty minutes later, Gil opened his locker and a folded piece of sky blue paper fell out. He looked around, but no one was there; they'd all left earlier than he did. He scanned it quickly, his face turning red as the words sunk in.

Gil,

I heard this song the other day and it reminded me of you. Actually it describes my feelings perfectly. So I thought I would give you the lyrics. Kinda sappy, I know, but love letters are supposed to be sappy, right?

Tried to write you a love song
In the middle of the night
Everything rhymed, but it didn't feel quite right
Anyway, that's all we need
Is another modern day Shakespeare
All I know is I get chills
Whenever you're standing near

You're so cool
Cool as ice cream in the summertime
Cool as James Dean with a twist of lime
You're so fine and I dig ya hard.
Lovesick dreamin' in the backyard
They wouldn't print it in a Hallmark card
It's so high school
yeah, You're so cool

I don't know what's happening, but it's a silly thing
I wanna wear your sweater
I wanna wear your ring
Ain't it funny what love
Can make a grown woman do
I've been telling my friends
I gotta big crush on you

You're so cool
Cool as Dylan back in '69
Cool as James Dean with a twist of lime
You're so fine and I dig ya hard
Lovesick dreamin' in the backyard
They wouldn't print it in a Hallmark card
It's so high school
Yeah, You're so cool

It sounds so ordinary, yeah
In my vocabulary
So I might as well say... you roar

Yeah baby, you're so cool
Cool as Dylan back in '69
Ragtop Mustang in the summertime
You're so fine and I dig ya hard
Lovesick dreamin' in the backyard
They wouldn't print it in a Hallmark card
It's so high school
yeah, You're so cool
Oh how does it feel to be so cool?

Gil looked around again. Thankfully no one had come in to witness his embarrassment. Nobody had ever sent him a love letter before and he wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't signed and was printed so he couldn't recognize the handwriting. What was the point of sending someone a letter if you didn't want them to know who it was from? He was embarrassed, but yet it felt good too. It did until a thought occurred to him.

"God, I bet it's from Sara." He plopped down onto the bench, dropping his head into his hands. "Didn't she get the hint? Do I have to be rude?" The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced it was from Sara. "Maybe I should talk to Catherine, she'd know what to do. No! I'm not going to talk to Catherine about this; I can handle it on my own. I'd die if she knew. She'd probably laugh herself into apoplexy if she knew. I'll just ignore it. Maybe it will go away."

He stood and grabbed his wallet. He debated on whether or not to just toss the letter, but decided he didn't want someone digging it out of the trash; he'd get rid of it at home.

"Catherine's out tonight," Gil started, looking at his team, his eyes skimming over Sara. He didn't want her to know he'd seen the letter. "Sara, Nick, Warrick, you three have the db at the Mirage. I'll take the smash and grab out in Henderson." There was no way he was going to pair himself up with Sara. Uh-uh, no way. Not in a million years. Plus his was a simple case. He could have sent Sara out solo, but he really wanted to be alone. He'd read the letter three more times and for some reason he couldn't bring himself to throw the letter away. It still sat on his kitchen counter.

He mulled it over as he walked to his assigned Tahoe. It would be his luck that his first love letter was not from the person he wanted it to be from. Had it been Catherine...well there was no use finishing that thought. She didn't feel that way and he just had to accept that fact. He started the engine and was greeted to music blasting from the speakers. Gil reached over to turn it down when the words hit him full force, making him stop short.

You're so cool
Cool as ice cream in the summertime
Cool as James Dean with a twist of lime
You're so fine and I dig ya hard.
Lovesick dreamin' in the backyard
They wouldn't print it in a Hallmark card
It's so high school
yeah, You're so cool

He quickly ejected the cd and looked at the label. There on the label was Catherine's handwriting. Patty Loveless: Strong Heart. He couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across his face; she'd given him the letter. He'd seen her signature on the sheet signing out the Tahoe last night. She'd obviously forgotten something when she left this morning. He slipped the cd back into the player and drove out to Henderson, his mind filled with ideas of how he could let her know that he shared her feelings.

"Just a second!" Catherine called as she walked to the door. She was glad that she'd put on a bit of makeup this morning before running to the grocery store when she saw who was standing outside.

"Morning," Gil said as she stepped back, allowing him to enter her house.

"Morning to you too. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Where's Lindsey?" Gil looked around the living room.

"She's at a friend's house. We were supposed to have a night with just the two of us, but it was the first sleepover of the summer and I couldn't keep her home. Apparently 'everyone was going to be there. And I'd be a horrible mother if I didn't let her go.'" Catherine repeated Lindsey's words when she begged permission to go.

"Good. Let's go get ice cream and talk."

"Gil, it's 9 in the morning."

"I know, but it's already 80 degrees in the shade. It won't kill you to have ice cream before lunch."

Catherine tried to keep her heart rate from soaring, but it was hard with him standing in front of her looking so damned irresistable. "Alright, but I have to be back by 11. Lindsey will be dropped off then."

"That's fine." He looked at her for a moment and Catherine felt her face flush under the intensity of his gaze. "You might want to tie your hair back, it's a little windy out."

"Okay." She left and came back a few moments later, her hair high in a ponytail. "You're awfully chipper this morning. You save an anthill or something?"

"No," Gil answered, ushering her out the door. "Someone thinks I'm cool."

Catherine stopped short, both at his words and the sight that greeted her. A shiny red convertible Mustang was parked in her driveway. She looked at him, watching as he smiled at her.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Simple." He opened the passenger door for her. "I followed the trail of evidence."

"Very funny." Catherine sat down and waited for him to walk around and get in. "Seriously, how did you know?"

Gil handed her a cd. "You left this in the Tahoe."

"Ah, I wondered where I put that." She fell silent as Gil expertly navigated the streets of Vegas. "I feel kinda stupid."

"Why?"

"Because it was silly, totally high school. I should have just told you."

He looked at her and took her hand in his. They both felt the electricity flow through them at the touch and they smiled at each other.

"I liked it this way. I've never gotten a love letter before. Oh, I almost forgot." He slipped a cd into the player and Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man floated out of the speakers. He drove to a Dairy Queen and pulled up to the window. "What do you want?"

"Plain vanilla cone please."

Gil placed their orders. "I never took you for a plain vanilla person."

"Why?" Catherine scooted closer to him.

"Don't you ever wonder if you were ice cream, what flavor you'd be?"

"Can't say that I have. So what flavor would I be?"

"Well," Gil began handing the cashier the money and giving Catherine her cone. He smiled at the cashier and pulled away from the window. "I'm thinking Half Baked."

"What? You think I'm half baked?" Catherine licked at her cone.

"Ben and Jerry's Half Baked. Chocolate and vanilla ice cream with brownie and gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough. Very sweet and...well a little off the wall."

"That sounds...like me." She giggled and thought a moment. "You'd be One Sweet Whirled. Coffee and Caramel ice cream with marshmallow and caramel swirls and coffee flavored fudge chips. Two ordinary flavors, but together...awesome."

Gil drove to a nearby park and pulled into a parking spot. "Want to take a walk?" Catherine nodded and they got out of the car.

"Nice wheels," she commented.

"Thanks, it's a rental."

The walked in silence, their hands finding each other and their fingers intertwining. After a few minutes, Catherine stopped and tugged on his arm.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Gil tossed his unfinished cone into the trash and pulled her to him. "About us. I think it's time that we acted on our feelings, don't you?"

Catherine's cone followed his. "Yes, I do." She tilted her head as he lowered his lips to hers. His lips were cold from the ice cream and oh, so delicious. Too soon, he stepped back and fished in his pocket.

"I have something for you. I don't have a sweater, but I do have this." He handed her a ring.

"UCLA. Class of '78." She looked at him and slipped it on her index finger. "I love it, thank you."

"Well, it's not much, but it's something." He brushed back some hair that was blowing into her face.

"No, it's everything," Catherine whispered, holding his face in her hands. "You know what?"

"What?" Gil slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

Catherine smiled just before pressing her lips to his. "You roar."

They stood; bodies pressed tightly together, mouths locked in passionate kisses as the fierce Vegas sun beat down on them, the hot wind whipping at their clothes. Kids were playing nearby, stopping to snicker at the couple. Catherine and Gil didn't notice; they were too lost in each other to notice the sounds of summer all around them. It was just as it was fated to be.